The Fertility Cost Relief Act would allow people to withdraw up to $20,000 from their retirement accounts without facing the typical 10 percent early withdrawal penalty, provided the money is used to pay for fertility treatments within one year of withdrawal. The bill covers a broad range of fertility-related expenses, including egg and sperm preservation, in vitro fertilization, genetic testing of embryos, fertility medications, and gamete donation. The $20,000 limit is a lifetime cap per individual, though it would be adjusted annually for inflation starting in 2027. The legislation applies to most retirement plans, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, but excludes traditional pension plans. The bill would take effect for withdrawals made after December 31, 2025.

The DEATH BETS Act would prohibit futures exchanges and trading platforms from listing or clearing contracts that bet on harmful events like terrorism, assassination, war, or individual deaths. The bill amends the Commodity Exchange Act to explicitly ban these types of speculative contracts, which critics argue exploit tragedy and create perverse incentives. The legislation applies to all registered exchanges and clearing organizations and gives the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority to determine what activities fall under this prohibition. No specific funding or implementation timeline is mentioned in the bill text, though the measure would primarily affect commodity trading platforms and their regulatory oversight.

The SUPER BUGS Act directs the Secretary of State to develop a comprehensive strategy—in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies—to secure international cooperation for developing and commercializing medicines and treatments for pandemic and epidemic diseases, particularly those resistant to antibiotics. The bill recognizes that antimicrobial-resistant pathogens pose significant threats to U.S. national security and that international collaboration can help prevent outbreaks from reaching American borders. The Secretary of State must submit this strategy to Congress within 18 months of the bill's enactment and must work with foreign countries, multilateral organizations, and private sector partners to implement it. The strategy should prioritize equitable contributions from participating nations, strengthen partner countries' public health capabilities, avoid duplicating existing efforts, and focus resources on treatments with the greatest potential health impact. While the legislation does not specify funding amounts, it emphasizes leveraging existing domestic and international funds through partnerships, contracts with U.S. companies, and alternative payment models to efficiently develop and distribute these critical health products globally.

The Veterans Assistance for Loan Origination Relief Act requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to refund housing loan fees to veterans who had pending disability compensation claims when they applied for a VA-guaranteed home loan. Specifically, if a veteran applies for a housing loan while their disability claim is still being processed and later receives approval for disability benefits, the VA must reimburse them for any loan fees they paid upfront. The bill also clarifies that if the VA improperly collects fees in violation of existing rules, those fees must be treated as overpayments and either refunded directly to the veteran or credited back to their loan. This legislation affects veterans seeking home loans through the VA and aims to prevent them from paying origination fees that they may later become entitled to avoid based on their disability status.

Plastic Pellet Free Waters Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to issue a final rule that prohibits certain discharges of plastic pellets and other preproduction plastic into waters of the United States.

This bill would exempt Purple Heart and Medal of Honor recipients from paying passport fees. Currently, all U.S. citizens must pay fees to obtain or renew a passport, but this legislation would waive those fees specifically for military personnel and veterans who have received these two highest military awards. To implement the change, the bill requires the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to work together to establish documentation requirements and verification procedures, ensuring that only eligible recipients receive the fee exemption. The legislation does not establish new funding or specific timelines, instead directing the State Department's Consular Affairs office to coordinate with the Defense Department to verify award recipients through existing military records.

This bill aims to make it easier for children of military service members to qualify for free and reduced-price school meals. The legislation requires the Department of Agriculture, working with the Department of Defense, to submit a report by October 1, 2026, examining how to streamline the eligibility process so military families don't have to submit separate applications. The report will evaluate using military benefits data—specifically the Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Needs Allowance—to automatically certify eligible children. Additionally, the bill modifies how household income is calculated for meal eligibility by excluding certain military housing allowances. This change recognizes that military housing assistance should not count against a family's income when determining whether they qualify for meal benefits, potentially helping more military-connected children access nutrition assistance.

The SHIELD Act amends federal utility regulations to create a new category for "large load facilities"—defined as businesses or sites using more than 75 megawatts of electricity—and establishes how utilities should handle their power demands. The bill requires large load facilities to pay the full cost of any grid upgrades needed to serve them, even if the facility later uses less electricity than expected or shuts down. To encourage grid reliability, utilities must prioritize service requests from large load facilities that agree to use energy-saving technologies (like on-site storage or demand reduction) and source all their power from zero-emission sources like solar, wind, or nuclear energy. State utility regulators and non-regulated utilities have one year to begin reviewing these standards and two years to make final decisions, with reporting requirements to Congress. The bill does not apply to existing facilities whose increased power use comes primarily from electrification or emissions-reduction efforts.

H.R. 7038 prohibits the U.S. government from using federal funds to finance, subsidize, insure, or support Venezuela's oil and petroleum infrastructure, including construction, maintenance, and expansion of oil facilities, as well as any government advocacy for Venezuela's oil sector at international institutions. The bill applies to all federal departments and agencies, covering direct payments, loan guarantees, tax incentives, and diplomatic support, though Congress can authorize exceptions through future legislation. The Secretary of State must submit an annual report to Congress within 180 days of enactment and each year thereafter certifying compliance and describing any related expenditures or activities. The bill affects federal agencies, international financial institutions involved in Venezuela policy, and any U.S. entities that might otherwise receive government support for Venezuelan oil investments. No specific funding allocations or monetary amounts are designated since the bill's primary purpose is to restrict existing spending rather than appropriate new resources.

The Health Insurance Premium Fairness Act of 2025 would allow people to reduce their health insurance tax credits by the amount of Medicare premiums they pay for themselves or their household members. Currently, when calculating how much federal help someone receives toward their private health insurance costs through tax credits, Medicare premiums are not factored in. This bill would change that by letting eligible taxpayers subtract Medicare premiums—including costs for Parts A, B, C, and D coverage plus supplemental Medigap policies—from what they owe for marketplace insurance premiums. The measure would primarily affect people who are receiving Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies and also have household members enrolled in Medicare. The changes would take effect for coverage beginning January 1, 2026.

This bill modifies the military's Transition Assistance Program by requiring the Department of Defense to consider additional personal and family circumstances when designing transition pathways for departing service members. Specifically, the legislation adds four new factors to the program's evaluation process: a service member's child care needs (including enrollment in the military's Exceptional Family Member Program), the employment status of other household adults, the service member's duty station location and any family separations, and the impact of military schedules and deployment frequency on the member and their household. The changes affect transitioning military personnel across all service branches and aim to make the program's career planning recommendations more tailored to individual circumstances. The bill carries no new federal funding requirements, as it simply expands the criteria used within the existing Transition Assistance Program framework. No specific implementation timeline is provided in the legislation.

The Advancing Toward Impact Aid Full Funding Act increases federal funding for Impact Aid, a program that compensates school districts for lost tax revenue due to federal property within their boundaries or large numbers of students whose parents work or live on federal land. The bill gradually increases appropriations across four funding categories from fiscal year 2026 through 2031: payments for federal property acquisitions (rising from $85 million to $250 million), basic and heavily impacted district payments (rising from $1.49 billion to $2.35 billion), special education payments for children with disabilities (rising from $50 million to $120 million), and school construction funds (rising from $20 million to $45 million). This legislation benefits school districts near military bases, Native American reservations, national parks, and other federal properties that lose property tax revenue. The bill represents a multi-year commitment to incrementally expand Impact Aid funding, with total appropriations growing substantially over the six-year period to help affected districts better serve their students.

Increasing Nuclear Safety Protocols for Extended Canister Transfers Act of 2025 or the INSPECT Act of 2025This bill requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assign a resident inspector to each commercial nuclear power plant that has permanently ceased operation. The inspector must (1) conduct inspections of decommissioning activities and spent nuclear fuel transfer activities, and (2) remain at the plant until all fuel is transferred from its spent fuel pools to dry storage.

The Fighting Fibers Act requires all new washing machines sold in the United States to include a microfiber filtration system starting January 1, 2030. The filtration system must have a mesh size of no more than 100 micrometers and be active during all wash cycles, either built into the machine or installed as an in-line filter. Every washing machine must also display a consumer-visible label instructing users to regularly check and empty the filter. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy will jointly develop regulations to enforce these standards, with penalties of up to $10,000 for first violations and $30,000 for subsequent violations. Additionally, the bill directs the EPA to conduct a nationwide study within one year on microfiber pollution in the environment and human body, including whether it poses health risks and disproportionately affects low-income communities.

Uncheck the Box ActThis bill places restrictions on recurring political contributions or donations.Specifically, the bill prohibits any person from soliciting a recurring contribution or donation for a political committee, an independent expenditure, or an electioneering communication by any method that does not require the affirmative consent of the contributor or donor. In addition, the bill prohibits a political committee, a person funding an independent expenditure, or a person funding an electioneering communication from accepting a recurring contribution or donation unless the contributor or donor gave affirmative consent. This affirmative consent cannot be a passive action by the contributor or donor, such as failing to uncheck a prechecked box.Further, any person who accepts a recurring contribution or donation must (1) provide a receipt for the initial contribution or donation and for each recurrence that clearly and conspicuously discloses all material terms, (2) provide all information needed to cancel the recurring contribution or donation in each communication with the contributor or donor, and (3) immediately cancel recurring contributions or donations upon request of the contributor or donor.

NRC Office of Public Engagement and Participation Act of 2025This bill establishes an independent office within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to advocate for the public within NRC jurisdiction and support public participation in NRC proceedings and activities. The bill also authorizes the NRC to compensate certain persons for reasonable attorney’s fees, expert witness fees, and other costs of participating in NRC proceedings in certain circumstances where participation in the proceeding without compensation constitutes a significant financial hardship.

H.R. 4060, called the Service Member Housing Relief Act, makes changes to how the Department of Defense adjusts housing allowances for military personnel. Currently, the Secretary of Defense can only temporarily increase the basic allowance for housing when costs rise by 20 percent or more in a given area; this bill lowers that threshold to 15 percent, making it easier to trigger adjustments when housing becomes less affordable for service members. The bill also makes this adjustment authority permanent rather than temporary, ensuring the Secretary of Defense can continue making these changes going forward without needing Congress to reauthorize the power. This legislation directly affects active-duty and reserve military members who struggle with rising housing costs in expensive areas. The bill does not specify new funding amounts or implementation timelines beyond the threshold change.

Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025This bill expands the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children (Summer EBT) to include coverage during a school closure period. (Summer EBT provides grocery-buying benefits to low-income families with school-aged children when schools are closed for the summer.)Under the bill, a school closure period means a period in which an elementary school or secondary school is closed, operating remotely, or operating in a hybrid manner for five or more consecutive weekdays during a calendar year.The bill also increases the daily value of the benefit to cover the cost of breakfast, lunch, and a snack for every day school is closed.For FY2026, USDA must pay each state agency and covered tribal organization 100% of the administrative expenses (currently 50%) incurred in operating the program. The rate that USDA must pay for administrative expenses decreases each fiscal year until it reaches 50% of the expenses for FY2031 and each fiscal year thereafter.USDA must also provide grants to states to support the development or upgrading of data systems that are necessary to implement Summer EBT.

H.R. 2862 would prohibit the federal government from issuing oil and gas leases or authorizations in the Southern California Planning Area off the coast of Southern California. The bill amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to create a permanent ban on new oil and gas exploration, development, and production activities in this offshore region. The legislation would affect energy companies seeking to develop oil and natural gas resources in federal waters off Southern California's coast and would protect the region's marine environment from new drilling operations. The bill contains no specific funding allocations, as it primarily restricts rather than authorizes activities. Introduced in April 2025 by a bipartisan group of House members, primarily from California and Florida, the measure was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources for consideration.

The Resilient Coasts and Estuaries Act of 2025 establishes a new federal program to protect and restore coastal and estuarine areas threatened by development, climate change, and degradation. The bill allows the Secretary of Commerce to work with states, local governments, and nonprofit organizations to acquire and restore important coastal lands that provide ecological, recreational, and community protection benefits, with special priority given to projects that help low-income communities prepare for coastal hazards and climate impacts. The legislation also expands the National Estuarine Research Reserve System by requiring the federal government to designate at least five new reserves over eight years and establish coordinated climate monitoring across all reserves. The bill authorizes $47 million annually for fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to fund the program and establishes new requirements for research, education, and coastal training activities at these reserves, while allowing existing commercial and recreational uses to continue.

H.R. 2301 aims to accelerate renewable energy development on federal public lands by raising the national production goal from 25 gigawatts to 60 gigawatts by the end of 2030 and requiring the Interior and Agriculture Secretaries to reassess broader renewable energy targets within 18 months of enactment. The bill directs the Interior Secretary to designate and prioritize areas on federal lands suitable for solar, wind, and geothermal projects while considering wildlife, water, cultural resources, and Tribal interests, with land allocations reviewed every 10 years. To make projects more economically viable, the bill caps rental rates and fees at levels comparable to private land in the same region, bases decommissioning bonds on actual reclamation costs rather than fixed per-acre amounts, and limits future rent increases to inflation adjustments. The legislation preserves existing federal land management requirements, ensuring renewable energy development continues to follow multiple-use and sustained-yield principles established under longstanding federal law.

Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2025This bill expands eligibility for Post-9/11 educational assistance for members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces and members of the National Guard. Specifically, the bill expands the types of activities that count towards Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility to include active duty, inactive-duty training, annual training duty, and full-time National Guard duty or active duty. (Generally, under current law, only federal active duty counts towards educational assistance eligibility.)

This bill modifies the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to change how the federal government prioritizes accepting spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from civilian nuclear power plants. Rather than a first-come, first-served approach, the Department of Energy would now prioritize acceptance based on four factors: whether a reactor is shut down or shutting down, the population density of the area surrounding the reactor, the earthquake risk in that region, and national security concerns about storing waste on-site. Reactors meeting these criteria—particularly those that are decommissioned, located in densely populated areas, in high-earthquake-hazard zones, or in areas with national security risks—would receive priority for having their waste removed and transferred to federal storage or disposal facilities. The bill affects nuclear power plant operators and communities hosting these facilities, which could speed up waste removal from certain locations. The legislation does not specify new funding or implementation timelines, instead amending existing law to guide Department of Energy decision-making on waste acceptance.

This bill authorizes certain Purple Heart recipients to elect to transfer to one or more eligible dependents (e.g., a spouse or child) unused portions of such recipients’ entitlement to Post-9/11 GI Bill educational assistance. This authority specifically applies to veterans who are awarded the Purple Heart for service in the Armed Forces occurring on or after September 11, 2001, and who have been discharged or released from active service.Under the bill, the total number of months of entitlement transferred by a Purple Heart recipient may not exceed 36 months. Additionally, the Purple Heart recipient may modify or revoke any unused portion of the transferred entitlement by submitting written notice to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD).A transferred entitlement may not be treated as marital property or marital assets in divorce or other civil proceedings.The death of the Purple Heart recipient must not affect the use of the entitlement by the individual who receives the transferred entitlement.In the event of an overpayment of educational assistance, the Purple Heart recipient and the transferee of the entitlement must be held jointly and severally liable for the amount.The bill requires the VA and DOD to coordinate to facilitate the transfer of entitlements under the bill.

Prevent Family Fire Act of 2025 This bill establishes a new business tax credit on the sale of a safe firearm storage device on or before December 31, 2032. The amount of the tax credit is 10% of the retail sales price (up to a maximum price of $400 and excluding separately stated sales tax) of a safe firearm storage device. The tax credit is allowed only on the first retail sale of a safe firearm storage device for a use other than resale or long-term lease.The bill defines safe firearm storage device as a device that is (1) designed and marketed to deny unauthorized access to a firearm or ammunition or render such items inoperable; and (2) is secured by a combination lock, key lock, or lock based on biometric information.